10 Best Wrestling Storylines Right Now

1. The Cody Vs. MJF Saga

MJF Cody
Scott Lesh

Cody covered the gaping plot hole and removed the not ideal comparisons to Sting with one, aching line: "He was a bad guy, but he was my bad guy".

MJF is a despicable piece of sh*t because Cody - and this is the one, under-explained flaw in an otherwise exceptional storyline - saw something in MJF that nobody else did. MJF opened the main show of All In, unadvertised, in a decision met with some confusion by the crowd, but for Cody, there was none. He was very clear: MJF was the brightest future star in this industry, and he was desperate to make it happen for him.

That "for him" part, of course, infuriated MJF, who destroyed Cody's dream of being AEW World Champion by throwing in the towel...

...for him.

There is a rich poetry to all of it, this spellbinding fusion of wrestling storytelling and episodic television. MJF has stipulated that Cody cannot touch him. If Cody wants him in a match, Cody has to endure weeks and months of sociopathic abuse, hired goons, one of the biggest, most shredded hired goons in the company, and all the while, it never feels like relentless heat; he has outsmarted MJF, as all babyfaces should, by working out a loophole that saw MJF get tossed in a swimming pool.

It's funny (MJF's promos), it's harrowing and stirring (the strapping), and it's all building towards a furnace in Chicago because the complete lack of Cody getting his hands on MJF has been perfectly engineered to make that life-affirming when he finally does.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!